Sales Representative Salary: Your 2025 Guide

Someone who is sociable, enjoys working directly with people, navigates challenges well, and cares about providing customers with services to meet their needs may be uniquely suited to working in sales. If this sounds like you, you might consider a career as a sales representative—a professional who sells products and services for a company or brand. 

If you pursue this career, you can also expect to earn above-average pay. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual US sales representative salary is $73,080 [1].

Continue learning about what you can expect from a sales representative salary, considering factors that influence it. Explore how your education, experience, certifications, skills, and commission structure can all impact your potential earnings. 

What is a sales representative?

A sales representative works directly with customers and potential customers to sell products and services. In this role, you are the main point of contact for sales and work to generate leads, discuss a customer’s needs, pitch relevant products, and walk them through the sales process. 

In this customer-focused role, you need excellent communication and relationship-building skills to build rapport and trust. It can involve making cold calls (contacting someone you don't know) and working from warm leads (people who have expressed interest in what you are selling). The job can also involve a lot of travel to meet clients in the area you cover, although some of this takes place online or over the phone as well.

As a sales representative, you receive a salary, but a commission structure is may be in place. This payment structure often means the role is goal-driven and requires a lot of motivation. 

How much does a sales representative make?

Sales representative roles span many industries, and your income depends on which industry you work in and your experience level, education, and skills. As it is often a role with a commission structure, how much you earn is primarily up to your efforts and the compensation package offered by your employer. 

The table below offers the average base salary to the BLS and several other reputable job listing sites [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]:

*All salary data is sourced from Glassdoor as of January 2025

Factors that impact sales representative salary

You’ll find many factors that impact your salary as a sales representative. The commission you earn is a big one, but it also depends on where you work, who you work for, and the level you have reached in terms of education, experience, and skills. 

Education

Sales representative jobs vary in their requirements, but in general, having a high school diploma is sufficient to get an entry-level sales rep position. According to Zippia, the following is a breakdown of education levels among sales representative jobs [6] :

• Bachelor's degree: 54 percent

• High school diploma: 20 percent

• Associate degree: 16 percent

• Other degrees: 6 percent

Niche positions, such as selling technical products or medical sales roles, usually require higher levels of education, such as a bachelor’s degree or more specific qualifications. These roles tend to command higher salaries as well. 

Discover the average salaries for a sales representative based on level of education, according to Zippia [5]:

• High school diploma: $45,680

• Associate degree: $47,974

• Bachelor’s degree: $65,363

• Master’s degree: $75,276

Certification

Another way to increase your chances of earning a top salary is to gain certification in the field you're working in, as certifications generally bolster your sales skills. You may also consider introductory sales courses at universities, community colleges, or online. The sales profession doesn’t stipulate a set course that you should take. What is valuable to your role depends largely on your industry, and many companies offer in-house training.

Types of certifications you may consider, and their associated salaries include: 

• SMI Certified Sales Professional: $69,000 

• HubSpot Inbound Certification: $62,000

• Certifed Professional Sales Person: $64,000

• Salesforce Certified Administrator: $86,000

*All salary information for certifications is sourced from Payscale as of January 2025 

Experience

Promotions within a company generally happen based on proving yourself in the role by hitting sales targets. Advancing in your career often comes with larger accounts and areas to manage, which, in turn, can lead to higher salaries and bigger commissions. According to Glassdoor, the estimated total pay for a senior sales rep in the US is $192,918 per year. This figure includes an average base salary of $89,092 and $103,826 in additional pay. Additional pay may represent profit-sharing, commissions, or bonuses [7].

Take a look at a base salary breakdown by years of experience, according to Glassdoor [2]:

• 0–1 years of experience: $53,172

• 1–3 years: $58,501

• 4–6 years: $62,567

• 7–9 years: $65,983

• 10–14 years: $72,004

• 15+ years: $77,548

To increase your salary as a sales representative, you may also consider working toward a leadership role in sales, such as sales manager, sales director, or sales engineer. 

Commission

As discussed above, commission is typically a significant part of a sales representative's salary. If your initial base salary is lower, your commission may increase your overall yearly earnings. 

According to data from the BLS, 10 percent of sales representatives earn less than $37,240, while the upper 10 percent earn over $133,010 [8]. You earn commission as a bonus based on either sales made or the performance of an individual or team. As of January 2025, Glassdoor reports the average base salary of a sales rep as $74,394, but with commission and other benefits, the average total compensation rises to $148,858 [2].

Skills

The skills you have can make a big difference in how much you are paid as a sales rep because this type of work is highly performance-based. The better your skills, the more sales you likely make, and the bigger your commissions. 

Some of the most critical skills for you to master include:

Workplace skills

• Communication 

• Relationship building 

• Negotiation

• Resilience

• Self-motivation

Technical skills

• Customer service

• Cold calling

• Lead generation

• Presentation

Of all these skills, these top five may increase your salary the most, according to Payscale [3]:

• Technical sales: 44 percent increase in salary

• Salesforce: 31 percent increase in salary

• Field sales: 10 percent increase in salary

• Strategic planning: 9 percent increase in salary

• Account management: 7 percent increase in salary

Location

Where you work has an impact on your salary as well. Typically, large cities pay the highest salaries, and certain states have a reputation for paying more than others. This, of course, also depends on the industry you work in. Discover how this breaks down for sales representatives in particular:

Highest-paying states for sales representatives

Explore the top-paying states for sales representatives, according to average annual salary data from BLS[9]:

1. New Jersey: $156,540 

2. Washington: $142,790 

3. Michigan: $141,410 

4. West Virginia: $137,530 

5. California: $135,140

Highest-paying cities for sales representatives

According to the BLS, the top-paying metropolitan areas for sales representatives are as follows [9]:

1. Ann Arbor, MI: $243,320 

2. Trenton, NJ: $200,040 

3. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: $169,750

4. Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ: $147,690

5. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: $ 146,310

Industry

Industry matters when working as a sales representative and considering salary. Generally, sales reps in some industries make significantly more than average, while others earn less. Examples of the base salaries in various sectors include the following [2]:

• Pharmaceutical & biotechnology: $100,243

• Construction, repair, and maintenance services: $96,056

• Information technology: $86,597

• Aerospace and defense: $64,105

• Real estate: $69,158

*The above average base salaries are sourced from Glassdoor as of January 2025.

Company

Consider the company you want to work for as a sales representative when comparing salaries. Some have excellent pay rates and commission structures for sales roles. According to Zippia, the companies paying the highest average salaries for sales roles include [5]:

• Google: $118,278

• Palo Alto Networks: $116,908

• Erie Homes for Children and Adults: $106,282

• American Residential Services: $105,077

• Hewlett-Packard: $102,743

Related job titles

According to the BLS, the job outlook for a sales representative is 1 percent, which indicates little to no change for employment predicted from 2023 to 2033 [1]. Still, US News and World Report ranks it fourth on its list of the “Highest-Paying Jobs Without a Degree” and fifth on its list of the “Best Sales and Marketing Jobs” [10].

In addition to pursuing a job as a sales representative, you may consider exploring similar job titles and career paths. With some experience, gaining extra qualifications and proving yourself as a sales professional may qualify you for similar roles. It’s important to note that these roles also usually come with some form of commission on top of a base salary:

• Sales engineer: $113,452 base pay, $196,270 total pay

• Insurance sales agent: $64,303 base pay, $106,778 total pay

• Travel agent: $54,919 base pay, $85,125 total pay

• Recruitment consultant: $65,561 base pay, $104,867 total pay

• Sales manager: $85,145 base pay, $168,881 total pay

• Sales director: $135,570 base pay, $281,255 total pay

• Real estate agent: $149,968996 base pay, $240,644 total pay

*All average annual salary data sourced from Glassdoor as of December 2024. Total pay could include commission, cash bonuses, tips, and profit sharing.

Getting started with Coursera

The salary of a sales representative depends on factors including industry, location, and your level of education. Additionally, sales reps may have the opportunity to earn more on the job from commission and individual sales. If you want to increase your average annual earnings, consider choosing a company with a favorable pay structure or continuing your education to seek a more advanced role later in your career.

If you are considering starting a sales career, consider building the skills needed to be a successful sales representative, such as communication and problem-solving, with online courses and professional certificates. Consider the Salesforce Sales Development Representative Professional Certificate on Coursera, where you’ll build job-ready skills and develop a results-driven professional portfolio that will set you apart.